I Can Hear the Whistle Calling
by Lachwen
Summary: A short one-shot dealing with my version of what happens to Chrno and Rosette in the final manga (I think: the manga's not out in any language I can read yet). Slight Angst but mostly Romance. Plz r&r!


I own nothing. At least not in this world. Maybe in the next – if I ever find that worldportal I'll make sure to bring Chrno and Rosette back for everyone!!!!!

/_italics_/ denotes character thought

_Italics_ denotes character speech

**Bold** denotes change of location

The tall man glanced about the train, searching intently. He was certainly an odd sight – one didn't find many demons going to this particular destination. In fact, it he was quite likely only the Second (the first being the notable Demon MortVolde.) He was an odd fellow too – bright blue hair and glittering gems stood out among a crowd of children and elderly in their Sunday Best. A few of the more nearsighted could be heard muttering over 'kids these days…' – despite the fact that the man in question was probably old enough to be most of their Great-Great-Great Grandfathers or somesuch. By the time he had finished his search of the train he had collected a huge entourage of curious kids who spread chaos like butter in their wake. Although he was amused by their antics as they decided his horns were jungle gyms and tried to pull off his fluffy ears, he seemed definitely preoccupied. Normally occupants forgot their past lives – but this one again seemed the exception. He absentmindedly fingered a large antique pocket-watch as his eyes roamed around, peering intently at each passenger. As his gaze swept over them, many of the other souls shivered at the depths of sadness in his fiery gaze.

At last he seemed to accept that whoever it was he was searching for was not on the train. He wilted, drawing in on himself until he resembled a small boy of around twelve. His rather long hair was thrown messily into a ponytail that made most of the girls itch to pull it into a braid. Once glance at him, however, dissuaded them from trying. Only one person was allowed to mess with his hair. He sat dejectedly down and stared out the window at the passing landscape, battered hat in hand.

**In the Baggage Car**

A small blonde girl snickered as she watched the familiar form walk past her door. He had come after all! It was all she could do not to run out right then and hug the living daylights out of him, but she managed to hold herself back. She'd been planning this for too long to mess it up. As she waited for him to stop searching, she played with a large pocket-watch identical to the strange demon's. As time passed, she finally got bored and began peering through the luggage around her.

_Ooooh! Guns! Purdifull!!!_

_Knives!!!! Explosives!!! Destructive!!!_

Her eyes took on a gleam that, to all who knew her, meant nothing but trouble and mayhem.

/_This is gonna be FUN!_/ She could be heard thinking excitedly. /_The stupid train's too boring by half anyway. No one will notice if a few cars go missing…is it even possible to blow up a spirit train?_/ She thought for a bit, idly twisting the watch on its chain before deciding abruptly that /_Real bombs blow up real stuff, so imaginary bombs should blow up – Hey! Exploding Bible! Sweet!_/

Then the Girl-With-No-Attention-Span began to separate the "pretty flaming stuff" from the "to use on Chrno" pile and stuffed the latter in a convenient knapsack. She had a lot of pranking time to make up for…

Back in the Train 

The small boy known as Chrno stared disconsolately out the window.

/FLASHBACK/

_Rosette!_ He dashed towards the girl, his heart clenching madly – another detached part of his mind wondered whether it was even possible for him to have a heart as a demon - as she sank to the ground. He was already morphing into his human form as he caught her, praying to anyone who would listen that Rosette would be all right.

/_She's fine. She's fine. It's just a small fainting spell_/ He chanted, the mantra surging through his frozen mind. She lay limply in his arms as he strained his ears trying to find even a faint pulse.

_Rosette!_

/_Please, God, I'll do anything! Just let her wake up!_/

Her face swam before him as it always looked – grinning, or with the twinkling eyes that always boded some wild escapade and equally furious punishment by the Sisters – as he realized he wasn't breathing. He shook her gently, willing her to open her eyes and laugh, to cry "Sucker" and give him a brain-damaging wallop.

_Rosette!_

He tried again, attempting to will some of his power into her small body. His hands met with the clock – the accursed timer whose needle foreshadowed her doom – and he felt a brief surge of hope. Cradling her, his fumbling fingers fiddled with the knobs – maybe there was a way to let her feed off his power for a change? Granted, he wasn't supposed to have a soul, but he was growing more desperate by the second.

Rosette awoke to something warm dripping down her cheek. She opened her eyes to see the miniature form of Chrno above her, tears of blood flowing freely down his face. She tried to reach up and bonk him, to tell him he was being foolish and stupid, but her limbs felt incredibly heavy. She just wanted to lie there forever in the dreamy haze of her last breaths. She couldn't even feel her toes anymore, and the icy chill was slowly creeping up towards her spine as blood-starved tissue lost the battle with life. She wished Chrno would pull her closer – she was so very cold – but her face muscles had frozen like the rest of her. She was terribly, terribly afraid of what would happen once the coldness reached her lungs. It already was costing her last stores of energy just to swallow the measly gasps of air that were all she could manage and her throat felt clogged with unsaid words. She didn't want to die – not like this!

/_It's not fair!_/ Her mind screamed. /_You were supposed to live happily ever after like those fairy tales you used to read._/

Her eyes met Chrno's, and for a brief instant time seemed to freeze. He looked so forlorn and small – after all, no one could seem smaller than Chrno when he set his mind to it, as she often teased him of in the ages past – that she again felt the urge to glomph him and make him smile. The smile that could light up even the darkest room, on the rare occasions she had seen it. It was a point of pride that she was the only person who could ever make him smile that way.

His hair had been pulled out of the careful braid she had put it in and she could almost feel her fingers again as they itched to rebraid the tangled blue mess.

_Rosette?_

She heard his voice, foggy with distance, and tried to smile reassuringly up at him. He looked so cuddly – so hopeful – that it gave her limbs a burst of new energy. She reached up, brushing away blood and hair to see his face, trying to tell him all her unspoken hopes and fears, to cram her heart's worth of memories and love into a single gesture. His hand closed over her own as he smiled through his tears.

_You're gonna be fine, Rosette. Joshua's coming – we finished what we set out to do. He's gonna make you all better – just hold on for a little more. Everything's going to be all right._

But at this point her traitor ears failed her, and though she could vaguely see his mouth move, she could no longer hear his voice.

_Ccold_

Her voice surprised even her as she mentally whacked herself.

/_Ccold? How stupid can I sound! … I wonder if there's an award for that… like the "Most Destructive Nun" prize I got last year…_/

Her thoughts were wandering as she tried hard to savor Chrno's warmth as he held her closer, trying to wake up her dying body. She could feel the pull of the train again; and this time she knew there was no going back home.

_Chrno?_ She whispered, voice dry and cracking, _I'll wait for you._ She tried to smile and felt her last strength wane as she hurried on, determined to finish this last task. _I'll meet you on the train, even if you live forever. I'll hide if they try to make me move on, you know I can. Look for me? Please?_

_Rosette!_

_Ppromise?_ His face swam in her vision and she felt too tired even to rail against fate. She saw his lips answer her – all but his face had been swallowed up by a gaping black hole, through which she could see the train's light. As she lost even her consciousness she prayed that he would find her; as the train's whistle sounded she told them all that she would not be parted from him again, but the train pulled her on and on towards the first journey she didn't want to go on. Alone, without Chrno.

/END FLASHBACK/

Chrno stared at the countryside as it zoinked past. It was drenched in the sky's tears – the perfect fit for his mood. He could still hear her voice, her whispered plea, so lost and small and alien to the fearless fighter he had always known. He had been so certain that she would be here – even the conductors were no match for Rosette in a temper. He stilled a pang, telling himself she had moved on. Maybe she had found another lost little soul to love – all he had ever been to her was a friend. She had probably forgotten about him – he had brought too much pain to her for her to ever love him back. He just hoped she was happy, for it was the only hope he had left.

Chrno was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't hear the one called Rosette sneak up on him. She had been planning this for ages right down to the evil grin that enveloped her features. At the sight of her long lost companion, however, she felt everything vanish. Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she was running full tilt towards him, all thoughts of stealth and surprise lost. He was here at last!

In the mood he was in, Chrno wouldn't have noticed Aion doing a strip tease on his nose. He didn't even look up until he realized with a start that he was inexplicably flying head-over-heels through the air courtesy of a very hyper Rosette. He remained stunned until she kissed him soundly. Then he was just in shock. All around them people oohed and aahed, a few with tears running down their cheeks. All in all, everyone was truly "Happily Ever After."

At least, until Rosette remembered her explosives…


End file.
